Former Bush Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is releasing a book on September 1 titled, “The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…and How We Can Be Safe Again.” U.S. News’ Paul Bedard reports that, in the book, Ridge reveals that he considered resigning because he was urged to issue a politically-motivated security alert on the eve of Bush’s re-election:
Ridge admits Bush administration pushed to raise security alert for political reasons on eve of re-election.
Healthcare lobbyists: 6 for each member of Congress
Every one of those 534 members of Congress now has six (6!) lobbyists working on them -- and that's just for healthcare.
A total of 3,300 lobbyists have registered to drive the sizzling healthcare issue in Washington -- three times the brigade of lobbyists representing the entire defense industry.
U.S. banks to make $38 billion from overdraft fees: report
A large portion of the revenue is likely to come from the most financially stretched consumers, according to the paper.
It said the research showed that many banks have increased charges on overdrafts and credit cards in order to boost profits.
Honduras Military Coup Engineered By 2 US Companies?
Earlier in the year Chiquita Brands International Inc. (formerly United Fruit) and Dole Food Co had severely criticized Zelaya for advocating an increase of 60% in Honduras's minimum wage, claiming that the policy would cut into corporate profits. They were joined by a coalition of textile manufacturers and exporters, companies that rely on cheap labor to work in their sweatshops.
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List of Dead Scientists
#87: Wallace L. Pannier, 81. Died Aug. 6, of respiratory failure and other natural causes. Pannier, a germ warfare scientist whose top-secret projects included a mock attack on the New York subway with powdered bacteria in 1966. Mr. Pannier worked at Fort Detrick, a US Army installation in Frederick that tested biological weapons during the Cold War and is now a center for biodefense research. He worked in the Special Operations Division, a secretive unit operating there from 1949 to 1969, according to family members and published reports. The unit developed and tested delivery systems for deadly agents such as anthrax and smallpox.
TVNL Comment: Hmmm....
C.I.A. Sought Blackwater’s Help in Plan to Kill Jihadists
The Central Intelligence Agency in 2004 hired outside contractors from the private security contractor Blackwater USA as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate top operatives of Al Qaeda, according to current and former government officials.
Executives from Blackwater, which has generated controversy because of its aggressive tactics in Iraq, helped the spy agency with planning, training and surveillance. The C.I.A. spent several million dollars on the program, which did not capture or kill any terrorist suspects.
Numbers of poor in US projected to increase to 38.8mil
The numbers of poor and uninsured Americans are likely rising - with more than 38.8 million believed to be in poverty. Rebecca Blank, the Commerce Department's undersecretary of economic affairs, spoke to The Associated Press in advance of next month's closely watched release of 2008 census data.
Noting the figures are not yet final, Blank said the numbers will likely show a "statistically significant" increase in the poverty rate, to at least 12.7 percent. That would represent a jump of more than 1.5 million poor people last year.
Primary liver cancers 'soaring'
Cases of primary liver cancer, an often preventable disease, have trebled in the last 30 years, figures suggest. While it is not uncommon for cancer to spread to the liver, Cancer Research UK statistics show incidents where it starts in the organ have risen sharply.
Cases of cancer overall have increased over recent decades as people live longer and detection methods improve. But experts say hepatitis C infections, as well as alcohol and obesity, have helped fuel the spike in liver cases.
Roger Waters narrates UN film on West Bank separation fence
Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, an outspoken critic of Israel's policy in the West Bank, is now the voice behind a United Nations film documenting Palestinian life behind Israel's controversial separation fence, the AFP reported on Wednesday.
The UN premiered its 15-minute documentary "Walled Horizons" this week, to mark five years since the International Court of Justice ruled that the route of the fence through Palestinian land was illegal.
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